Ranked second in the nation for job placement, the New Haven Job Corps Center recently joined 125 Job Corps centers across the country to celebrate the second annual “National Job Corps Commencement Day” ceremony, and to congratulate the Job Corps graduates.

Recent Job Corps graduates employed in Connecticut, employer partners, local policymakers, community leaders, family members, and many more, recognized these students’ achievements, and the investment they made in their futures and our community, organizers said.

Center Director Barbara Sandstrom introduced Mark Shriver, author of A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver, served as the national keynote speaker for the event. Shriver, the son of Job Corps founder Sargent Shriver, congratulated the 60,000 students who graduated from Job Corps this year.

“Job Corps is a great investment for the American people,” Shriver said in a special nationwide video address delivered in front of the United States Capitol. “Your commitment and dedication to get good-paying jobs make Job Corps the most successful federal training program serving your age group.”

“That’s why we need Job Corps for 50 MORE years – to continue helping young people like you who may not have the same opportunities others have had but are willing to work hard to overcome their obstacles,” he told the students.

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro also congratulated the graduates; “I want to commend your work and express my pride in the determination you have shown to overcome any obstacles that have stood in the way of your success”, she stated in personalized congratulatory letters to each graduate.  “Your steadfast commitment to excellence has helped to pave the way to a bright future for yourself and your community.”

 A unique national program, Job Corps offers at-risk youth a set of diverse academic opportunities and career pathways tailored to meet the needs of business and industry. Each year, Job Corps gives 60,000 youth a second chance to complete their education and advance into careers, higher education or the military.

The New Haven Job Corps Center Academy is ranked second in the nation for its placement of students with employers, and is one of 125 Job Corps centers located across the country and in all 50 states.

“Martin Luther King said that we stand on the shoulders of others, so that someday others will stand on our shoulders,” said Richard Schubert, Chairman of the National Job Corps Association, and Yale law school alumni, the Keynote speaker at the New Haven Job Corps Centers ceremony.  “So there are three things that I ask you to focus on; first, integrity, second, a winning attitude that never gives up, and third, changing the world at the end of your fingertips.”  Mr. Schubert commended the graduates on their work, and expressed his pride in the determination they have shown to overcome obstacles that could have stood in the way of their success.”Your steadfast commitment to excellence has helped to pave the way to a bright future for yourself and your community.”

Guest Speaker, Carla Tillery, founder and director of Proverbs, Inc a non-profit organization based in Hamden, CT that provides guidance and counseling to young adults, encouraged the graduates; “You’ve been chosen to be a success.  You have been chosen to do extraordinary things. You must make the choice that success can come to you and come out of you if you only dare to do more than what you’ve done in past time, be more than you see yourself in present time, to be more successful in your future time.”   Mrs. Tillery concluded,  “Success will find you because it will come out of you. Better has become possible; dreams can come true; your skills and talent will be in action.”

 As a tribute to the staff, parents, area leaders and members of the community who have helped the students in a number of ways,  Kevin Green, Career Technical Trade manager sang “You Raise Me Up” in dedication to their ongoing commitment to the students success.

 After Center Director, Barbara Sandstrom confirmed the graduates; they joyfully tossed their hats into the air in celebration.

 Job Corps has served more than 3 million out-of-work young adults and underserved youth nationally. Many are high-school dropouts or public-assistance recipients, and Job Corps helps them become active contributors to their communities. 

 For more information on the New Haven Job Corps Center, call Renée Venturino, Business and Community Liaison at (203) 907-4355.